Microscope apparatuses are widely used in studies, examinations and the like in a biological field in addition to an industrial field. An observation and an examination that are made with such a microscope apparatus are implemented by operating a motorized stage capable of moving a sample to be observed on a plane orthogonal to an observation optical path extending from an objective lens in the microscope apparatus including a plurality of objective lenses normally having different magnifications. When a sample is observed with such a microscope, various types of components (such as various types of illuminations, an aperture stop, a field stop, a revolver, an automatic focusing mechanism, a switching mechanism of optical elements such as a lens, a filter or the like), which configure a microscope, need to be operated according to an observation condition.
As a technique for operating these components, for example, a method for connecting an operation device to a body of a microscope, for driving the components according to an operation performed for the operation device, and for grasping driven states of the components with a display made on the operation device is normally known. Namely, a controller dedicated to a microscope, or a microscope controller such as a PC (Personal Computer) or the like is connected to a body of a microscope via a communication cable. Then, a command is exchanged with the main body of the microscope according to an operation of the microscope controller, so that various types of settings are made by driving controls of the components.
Examples of techniques related to a technique disclosed by this specification include WO96/18924 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-292578.